MOVIE REVIEW: HER PRIVATE HELL

 

A troubled young woman searches for her father as a mysterious mist engulfs a futuristic metropolis, unleashing a deadly and elusive entity. Her quest collides with an American G.I. who's on a harrowing odyssey to rescue his daughter from hell.

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

Cast: Sophie Thatcher, Charles Melton, Havana Rose Liu, Kristine Froseth, Shioli Kutsuna, Aoi Yamada, Dougray Scott, Diego Calva, Hidetoshi Nishijima

Release Date: July 24, 2026

Genre: Crime, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Rated R for some strong/bloody violence, sexual content, and language.

Runtime: 1h 49m

Review:

Nicolas Winding Refn’s Her Private Hell boasts a dreamlike quality that pops off the screen; however, its muddled scripting and lackadaisical pacing saps the film of any propulsive energy that makes the film feel far longer than it actually is.  Nicolas Winding Refn has proven he’s more than capable of delivering the kind of singular visuals that will stay with you long after the film ends, something, a talent on display here.  He creates an atmosphere that’s initially enticing and engrossing as we are plunged headfirst into this world and its mythology, but the story never matches the quality of what’s thrown on screen.  The script is peppered with stiff dialogue that saps the performances of any energy for long stretches of time.  There are some fascinating themes running under it all, but it’s all executed in such a thoroughly clumsy fashion that the story doesn’t keep you at arm’s length as much as it shoves you out of the way.  The majority of the dialogue is delivered in the most monotone manner possible with only a handful of bloody action sequences perking up the energy onscreen.  The story isn’t terribly cohesive by design, which wouldn’t be much of an issue if it wasn’t so hard to trudge through some odd creative choices that feel like it handcuffs the film’s cast.  Sophie Thatcher leads the film, clearly buying into the director’s vision, with an impressive level of commitment that you’re left wishing she’d been given free rein to flesh out her character.  There’s only one moment in the film’s final act where she’s able to unleash a noticeable level of ferocity that brings her character to life, something sorely missing beforehand.  The rest of the cast suffers from a similar fate with Kristine Froseth as the new girl, Hunter, seeming to find some spark of life every time she pops up onscreen.  Charles Melton and Havana Rose Liu are mostly constrained to looking good throughout but given very little else to do.  Shioli Kutsuna’s Ms T and Aoi Yamada’s Ms S are interesting muse like characters that pop up here and there bringing a very specific energy to the screen that almost like performance art.  Dougray Scott’s Johnny Thunder is intriguing in the early sequences, but the character disappears after the first act and never returns.   Her Private Hell is the kind of film that feels designed to be divisive in its overall approach, but it can’t overcome the general fact that it’s never as engaging or smart as it thinks it is.   

C-

MOVIE REVIEW: AFRAID

 

Curtis and his family are selected to test a revolutionary new device, a digital assistant called AIA, that takes smart homes to the next level. As AIA begins to learn everyone's behavior and anticipate their needs, it soon makes sure nothing and no one gets in the family's way.

Director: Chris Weitz

Cast: John Cho, Katherine Waterston, Havana Rose Liu, Lukita Maxwell, David Dastmalchian, Keith Carradine, Lukita Maxwell, Wyatt Lindner Isaac Bae

Release Date: August 30, 2024

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Rated PG-13 for sexual material, some strong violence, some strong language, and thematic material.

Runtime: 1h 25m

Review:

AfrAId has a capable director and solid cast but it’s so incredibly generic, predictable and silly that you might wonder if this movie about AI was actually written by AI.  Chris Weitz's film has a breezy pace that takes very little time establishing the premise and characters before moving to the main plot.  The pacing benefits the film since it moves at such a breakneck speed you barely have time to register how increasingly silly the whole thing is.  Every hot topic headline story seems to be integrated into the plot from the dangers of AI, deep fake porn and swatting.  There's plenty of room for discussion on all these topics but here they are all treated in the most ham-fisted, generic manner that the dialogue becomes unintentionally funny as the film goes on.  The cast is earnest enough to keep the whole thing from going entirely off the rails.  John Cho and Katherine Waterston play straight from start to finish and you have to appreciate their dedication because they clearly think they are in a much better movie.  Cho is steady and believably leery of the whole set up while Waterson does her best with the underappreciated wife/mother role.  They both display some real talent to keep these thinly written characters even mildly interesting.  Their characters’ kids don't fare quiet as well with Lukita Maxwell, Wyatt Lindner and Isaac Bae doing what they can with equally underwritten roles.  David Dastmalchian and Keith Carradine have small supporting roles which honestly could have been played by anyone as the film never utilizes their talents at all.  Making matters worse is the fact that AfrAId is supposed to be a horror film but there's very little to be found throughout with the unintentionally comedy serving as the most memorable part of the whole thing.

D+

MOVIE REVIEW: BOTTOMS

 

Unpopular best friends PJ and Josie start a high school fight club to meet girls and lose their virginity. They soon find themselves in over their heads when the most popular students start beating each other up in the name of self-defense.

Director: Emma Seligman

Cast: Rachel Sennott, Ayo Edebiri, Ruby Cruz, Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber, Nicholas Galitzine, Miles Fowler, Dagmara Domińczyk, Marshawn Lynch

Release Date: August 25, 2023

Genre: Comedy

Rated R for crude sexual content, pervasive language and some violence.

Runtime: 1h 32m

Emma Seligman’s Bottoms is a quick-witted high school teen comedy that takes the general tropes of the genre to an extreme level that pushes it closer to satire than anything else.  Seligman and Rachel Sennott, who stars as PJ, cowrote the film’s script which fires off a series of jokes at a rapid pace.  There’s a noticeable level of self-assured confidence in the way Seligman shoots the film which pairs perfectly with some top-notch comedic performances from Sennott and Ayo Edebiri.  The pair have great chemistry together as they bounce off each other with impressive ease which makes their relationship ring true even as things get more outrageous.  Sennott and Edebiri carry the majority of the film with their energy spilling over to the supporting cast.  Ruby Cruz, Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber, Nicholas Galitzine and Miles Fowler are all given plenty of time to shine throughout the film rather brisk runtime.  They added a level of depth to the film by populating the school landscape with hilarious caricatures of familiar high school types.   Those looking for a truer to life high school comedy might be disappointed since this film plays on a more exaggerated level of reality when compared to something like Booksmart or Lady Bird.   Bottoms isn’t that kind of teen comedy, instead it happily stakes out its own gonzo section of the genre to great effect.  

A-